Chapter 8 - Lorraine’s Last Performance
Lorraine refused to leave quietly.
Two weeks before the occupancy deadline, she organized a charity luncheon at the mansion without permission. Invitations described her as the matriarch of the Alden estate.
She expected public sympathy.
Instead, the guests arrived to find Maren’s attorney, a licensed property manager, and two security officers waiting in the entrance hall.
Lorraine descended the staircase wearing pearls and a white dress.
“What is the meaning of this?”
The property manager handed her a document.
“The event is unauthorized. Guests must leave.”
Lorraine turned toward the arriving donors.
“This is a private family dispute. My daughter-in-law is emotionally unstable.”
Maren stepped through the front doorway.
The room fell silent.
She wore a dark green suit and carried no visible anger.
“This luncheon was advertised as a fundraiser for the Boston Children’s Housing Fund,” Maren said. “That organization has confirmed it did not approve the event.”
Lorraine’s confidence flickered.
“I intended to make the donation afterward.”
“You collected advance payments into a personal account.”
Several guests began whispering.
Lorraine pointed at Maren.
“You have spent years waiting to destroy me.”
“No. I spent years giving you opportunities to stop.”
“You stole my son.”
“Wade is not an object.”
“You poisoned him against his own mother.”
Wade entered from the library.
“No, Mom.”
Lorraine turned.
He wore a plain suit and looked exhausted but steady.
“I finally listened to what you were saying.”
“I protected you your entire life.”
“You controlled me.”
“I made sacrifices for you.”
“And then used those sacrifices as chains.”
Lorraine’s face reddened.
“You would choose her after she threw us into the street?”
Wade glanced at Maren.
“She did not throw me anywhere. I chose to move into a hotel. You had thirty days to find housing, and Maren offered to pay the deposit. You refused because the apartment was not prestigious enough.”
Lorraine looked at the guests.
“Do you hear how they speak to me?”
An elderly woman near the doorway removed a check from her purse.
“I hear enough,” she said.
Others followed her outside.
Within minutes, the entrance hall was empty except for Maren, Wade, Lorraine, and the legal team.
Lorraine’s shoulders lowered.
Without the audience, she suddenly appeared smaller.
“What will happen to me?” she asked.
Maren replied evenly.
“You have retirement income. You have jewelry worth more than most people earn in several years. You have options.”
“This house was supposed to restore our family.”
“A house cannot restore a family that refuses to tell the truth.”
Lorraine turned to Wade.
“Will you let her do this?”
Wade’s voice remained quiet.
“Yes.”
Lorraine slapped him.
The sound echoed through the hall.
No one moved.
Wade touched his cheek but did not retreat.
May you like
“That,” he said, “is why.”
The last of Lorraine’s power disappeared.
